There were many good parts here involving plotting and action; the plot to free Aedion, the long-awaited Arobynn storyline, Dorian's fight against the darkness, trying to free magic and unseat the King. But there was a lot of downtime, too - while Aelin is off doing typical Aelin things (keeping secrets, making plans no one is allowed to know about, keeping her court out of the loop), everyone else sits around a lot and wait for things to happen. Also, Chaol gets slightly better over time but is still super judgemental and annoying for most of Queen of Shadows.

The witches/wyverns/Elide storyline is bubbling with potential - I can't wait to get more out of them. And I'm very much looking forward to more magic in Empire of Storms. Here's hoping we didn't peak with Heir of Fire...